By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Launching last fall, local farmers are beginning to participate in The Emily Project, an initiative aimed at placing 911 signage on rural land to help first responders identify and locate individuals in the event of an emergency.
“We’re encouraging people to get them for their standalone fields. If you’re in a field trying to offer first aid, the signs will allow you to continue to do that without having to go and flag down emergency services,” said Charlotte Huitema, Secretary, Haldimand Federation of Agriculture (HFA). “We know that there are many properties in Haldimand County that are not marked.”
HALDIMAND—Haldimand Federation of Agriculture (HFA) Vice President Nick Huitema, pictured with daughter Charlotte, has installed his Farm 911 Emily Project sign.
—Photo submitted by Charlotte Huitema.
The project, which is named after 7-year-old Emily Trudeau, who died tragically in a farming accident in 2014, is a farmer-backed effort to address the need for quicker response times when heading to a crisis in remote locations. Farm 911 signs can be bought and placed on farmland without dwellings, or other vacant rural areas including woodlots and trails.
Locally, the program was brought to the County’s attention through the work of both the HFA and the Haldimand County Agricultural Advisory Committee.
“This program is such an important initiative as it helps promote on-farm safety. By installing these signs property owners will improve Haldimand County’s Emergency Services ability to locate on-farm accidents, with the objective of preventing tragedies in the farming community,” said HFA President Henk Lise, who was the first property owner in the county to have a sign installed.
Although the project began small, first establishing itself in Hastings County, where Emily lived, it has spread now to communities around the province, and is continuing to grow as more local governments get involved and recognize the benefits of offering the signs to residents.
“Farmers are working long hours with large equipment, often in remote places, further and further from the home farm. Farming is an inherently dangerous occupation, and we want to help make it safer,” said Resi Walt, Farm 911 committee member in a previous interview with The Press. “A civic address at the entrance to a farm field will make a huge difference in an emergency, because first responders will be able to find you faster, and we all know that quicker responses can save lives.”
The program operates on a strictly voluntary basis. Those interested in purchasing a sign for their property can visit
haldimandcounty.ca/wp-content/uploads/
2021/11/Emily-Project-Form-Fillable.pdf
where they can fill out an application form for a sign and see a list of frequently asked questions about the project.
There is an fee for taking part in the project, set currently at $109.61, however sponsorship funding received through Erie Mutual Insurance, the local Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, and the HFA allowed for 35 signs to be given away, on a first-come-first-serve basis toward the end of 2021, with a hope that further funding will allow for 55 more signs to be handed out to interested participants in 2022.
“It is very essential that first responders have the tools needed when called to duty for an accident or fire,” summed up Huitema. “Emily Trudeau’s life was lost due to an unmarked farm property. We at the HFA want to continue in Scott Trudeau’s (Emily’s father) mission in ensuring this doesn’t happen again to someone’s family.”
